Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 34 (1896).djvu/20

 A PRELIMINARY LIST OF MALDIVE PLANTS. same race as the Sinhalese, are now mainly Arab, and became Mohammedan at the end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century. The ruler is termed Sultan, and is under the suzerainty of Ceylon, whither an embassy with giftst for the Governor is annually sent. In the following list the probably or certainly cultivated species are printed in italics, and among these the weeds of cultivation are marked with an asterisk. Probably all of these were introduced from Ceylon, with which, especially with Galle, there has always been constant communication. The rest appear to be wild, that is, brought by natural causes, especially by the currents and waves of the ocean. All are from Capt. Christopher's collection, unless otherwise stated :^ Anona muricata Dum.? ("Cus- tard-apple.") Calophyllum Inophyllum L. C'Duburi," Mald.J) Sida humilis Willd. Abutilon indicum G. Don. Hibiscus tiliaceus L. Thespesia populea Corr. (" Hi- rundu," Maid.) Gossypium sp. (" Kafa," Maid.) Averrhoa Dilimhi L. Citrus Limo7ieUusll&ssi. ("Lime.") C. Aurantium L. (" Orange.") C. Decwnana L. (" Shaddock.") Triphasia trifoUata DC. Zizyphus Jujuba Lam. (*' Kun- naru," Maid. "Plum.") Vitis LinnaBi Wall. Moringa pterygospei'ma Gaertn. Indigofera tinctoria L. Dolichos Lablab L. Cassia auric ulata L, (" Rana- wia," Maid. Bell.) C. Sophera L. (" Digu-tiyana," Maid. Bell.) Tamarindus indica L. Adenanthera pavonina L. (Bell.) Perhaps planted. "^Bryophyllwm calycinum Sal. (Haly.) Terminalia Catappa L. (Bell.) Perhaps wild. Psidiurn Guyava L. (Bell.) Eugenia Jambos (" Rose-apple," Bell.) Punica Granatum L. (Ibn Ba- tuta.§) Lawsonia alba L. ("Junapa," Maid.) Sonneratia acida L.f. Pemphis acidula Furst. (" Ku- radi," Maid.) Cucurbita moschata Duch. (" Pumpkin." Bell.) Oldenlandiacorymbosa L. (Haly.) 0. umbellata L. Morinda citrifolia L. ("Ahi," Maid.) ^^'Ageratum conyzoides L. Launaea pinnatifida Cass. Scaevola Koenigii Vahl. Jasminum Sambac Ait. J. sp. (specimen insufficient). t Among these are always some very handsome and well-made mats. Mr. Bell informs me that the plant (probably a sedge) of which they are made is called " Hau," and grows only in the southern atols. I have seen no specimen of it. J The Maldive names here given are from Mr. Bell's Eeport. Many are taken from Pyrard de Laval's Vocabulary, 1602-7, the old French spelling there given having been altered by Mr. Bell. § Ibn Batuta, the Moorish traveller, lived in the Maldives for a long period in 1343-4. A translated account of his sojourn there will be fourid in Trans. Ceylon Branch i?. 4sia,tic Soc, vii., extra number, 1983,
 * Argem,one mexicana L. (Haly.)